Parker is awake. You wouldn't know by looking at her. She still looks calm and serene, but her mind is alert. Her eyes were only open for a second when she heard someone opening the door.
Parker saw that it is a dark hospital room. In alarm, she realized that she is in the bed. 'Why am I here? Is this a con? Am I supposed to be stealing something right now? Did I fall asleep on the job? Is that Hardison? Why is he wearing scrubs?' Her thoughts race as she lies perfectly still. 'I hope that's a nurse,' Parker thinks as the person stands next to her bed.
As it turns out, it is a nurse. She checks the levels on the IV, makes some notes in the file and closes the door quietly behind her. When Parker opens her eyes to get a better look at her surroundings it starts to come back to her.
The crack of rotting wood, a rush of air, then the cold. She remembers swimming, fighting toward the rocks and that awful feeling when her body stopped doing what she wanted it to. Being so close, but no matter how hard she thrashed not getting any closer. Then Hardison was there saying, 'I got you.'
She felt the gravity of being on dry land, but she could not feel the ground beneath her feet because she could not feel her feet. Or, her legs...Then that weight was gone too. Then-nothing. If Hardison and the team hadn't been there she would have died.
The thought shakes her more than falling into Boston Harbor in January. Without this team, she would be an ice cube right now. Parker couldn't remember the last time she really needed anyone; that she allowed herself to need anyone.
She also could not think of another time when she hadn't woken up alone. It was kind of nice to open your eyes and see someone there holding your hand.
"Excuse me," Parker says quietly, tapping the top of Hardison's head with her free hand. He awakens slowly seeming very disoriented."Hi!" she squeaks as a disbelieving smile spreads across his face. "Can we get out of here, please?"
"Parker! They gotta check you out first! Listen to your heartbeat, shine a light in your eyes; you know, make sure you're ok." He can't believe that leaving the hospital is her first priority. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Yeah. Crack, splash, cold, you," she summarizes.
"I'm calling for the nurse." He stands to look for the call button, finding it attached to the rail on the opposite side of the bed. As he leans over, Parker grabs him and kisses him. Hardison has to brace his arms on the bed to keep from falling on top of her.
"What was that for?" He asks with a goofy grin.
"Isn't that how you thank someone for saving your life?" she responds innocently. "I could give you money, if that would be a better way to express my gratitude."
"No,no! This is fine. I like this form of expression," he assures her, then presses the little red button before taking his seat.
"Good, I don't like giving away my money," she says as the nurse walks in.
"Welcome back!" she says brightly which confuses Parker. "How do you feel?"
"Umm...heavy."
"That's normal. Your body has been through a lot, so you're going to be a bit stiff and achey for a few days. Are you hungry?"
"Starving," Parker says only realizing it now.
"Good. I'll have some food sent up in a minute, but i have to examine you first." Parker pouts, but the nurse pretends not to notice. "Now would be a good time to fill the rest of the family in," she adds to Hardison. "Cell phone use is only allowed in the waiting area." He thanks the nurse then pointedly tells 'Alice' that he'll be back soon.
"Your boyfriend's sweet," the nurse comments while checking the patients blood pressure. Parker almost corrects her, but figures the relationship status might be part of Alice's cover story. "Hasn't left your side once."
"How long was I out?"
"Uh, let's see," she glances at the clipboard. "It was 15:30 when your brother and your boyfriend brought you in and it's just after 4:00 now so...almost eleven hours."
"My brother?"
"Yeah, he didn't look too good when the doctor updated them on your condition. Thought he might take a swing at somebody."
"That sounds like him. He's always grumpy, but he's fluffy underneath. Sophie thinks just he needs a girlfriend."
"Sophie? Is that your aunt?" She's moved on to the shining light in eyes portion.
"Uh...yes. Was she here too?"
"Mmm hmm, along with your uncle." The nurse doesn't notice Parker's surprise at her 'uncle's' presence as she scribbles more notes in the chart. "He looked pretty bad, too. Wouldn't stop pacing the whole time."
"He hates hospitals."
"I don't blame him," she says amiably. "Can you wiggle your toes for me?" She asks, starting a series of mobility tests, followed by a few more questions to gauge her mental awareness. "Ok, that's all for now. I'll send in some food, then try to get some more sleep. The doctor will check on you at about 8:00, and if all goes well, we should have you out of here by lunchtime."
Lunchtime doesn't seem like soon enough for Parker, which she tells Hardison when he returns.
"Woman, you could have died today!"
"But, I didn't."
"I heard the phrase 'comatose for an indeterminate amount of time' and he was talking about you! Do you know what that does to a man?"
"No," she says in total honesty.
"Well, it's not good," he stammers, having trouble defining his feelings at the moment. "So, we're not taking any chances."
"Fine," she grumbles. Her scowl doesn't hold long, it soon dissolves into soft chuckles.
"What's so funny?"
"I just remembered the dream I was having." Parker sits up, crossing her legs under the blanket."It was really weird. I was a prison guard, but it was this tiny prison and all the inmates were money. All I did, was count them all day."
"Really?" Hardison muses that a money prison sounds a bit like a band and a bank teller would be like a prison guard. Weird.
"But, I was sad because I could never take the money home with me so then I became a painter."
'This can't be a coincidence, right?' he thinks to himself.
"All my paintings were of big red bulls playing pianos. Their outfits all matched which kind of piano they were playing."
"Huh?"
"Well, the one on the baby grand was wearing a tuxedo with tails. Then, there was another one playing a key-tar and he was dressed really 80's. My favorite was the one on the stand-up piano. He was dressed all old school with a bowler hat and smoking a cigar."
It is Hardison's turn to laugh, now picturing her 'dream paintings.'
"Then, all my paintings came to life. It was crazy because when the bulls started to play they accidentally smashed the keys with their hooves." Just then, a different nurse with a tray walks in.
"Eat up, it'll do you a lot of good." She sets the tray on a narrow table and wheels it over the bed. "You, too," she nods to Hardison. Parker makes a face at the bland meal: water, oatmeal, toast and crackers, two servings of everything. The only thing that isn't a sallow tan are the two cups of hot chocolate. She starts to poke at it despite it's unappealing appearance.
"So, what else happened in your dream?" Hardison asks, taking only the hot chocolate.
"You showed up, you were the piano repair guy. You got mad because the bulls would wreck the keyboards again as soon as you went to fix the next one."
'There is no way that's a coincidence.' Parker goes on to describe a comically warped version of what Hardison had been talking to her about.
"...Elliot was pouting because we kept interrupting his one-man civil war reenactment."
"One-man civil war reenactment?" Nate repeats, walking through the doorway.
"Sounds like somebody went down the rabbit hole," Sophie says close behind. "How fitting, Alice." Parker doesn't get the reference, but accepts a hug from her friend.
Eliot arrives soon after with an immovable smile on his face. Although the thief annoys him a majority of the time, he's grown quite attached to her. She's become like a sister to him. 'Well, not exactly a sister,' he corrects himself, remembering that he can't help checking her out every once in a while. 'She's like a stepsister. Not a blood relative, but it would still be really wrong.'
He slaps Hardison on the back a little harder than necesary and gives Parker a quick hug before ruffling her hair. The team only has a few minutes together before the nurse returns. She apologizes, but all except Hardison must go. She informs them that visiting hours start at ten'o'clock tomorrow, then leaves them to their goodbyes.
Sophie, who has held it together the best so far, almost starts to cry when she tells Parker again how glad she is that she's ok. She vows to be back at ten sharp. Eliot says that he won't be back, but to come to Nate's apartment as soon as she's discharged. He's going to cook a special lunch for everyone.
"Don't scare me like that again," mumbles Nate who has been shuffling near the foot of the bed since he arrived. He shakes Hardison's hand before giving him a duffle bag containing basic toilettries and a change of clothes for each of them.
"This is so weird," Parker states after they've all gone.
"What is?"
"I've never had anyone...care about me this much."
It's sad, but Hardison knows it's true. Before he can dwell on that thought, the original nurse returns. She moves the table off to the side then looks at 'Mark' who is settling back into his uncomfortable chair.
"I only let you stay because you are technically a patient too." Technically he shouldn't be, but the nurses had taken pity on the young couple. She falsified his chart so they would admit him overnight. Nothing big, just said that he was throwing up for the first two hours. "You're not going to make me regret it, right?"
"No, ma'am."
"What are the chances that you'll go to your own room on the third floor?"
"Not likely," he replies cautiously.
"I figured." She picks up the tray and heads for the door. "Move that chair, I'll be right back." Hardison obeys and in another moment she is pushing a bed through the wide door.
"Thank you!" he beams while she flips down the guard rails and lines up the new bed next to Parker's.
"It's a slow night," she shrugs. "If anybody asks, you're nauseous and that bed was already in here." They both thank her again but she waves them off, disappearing out the door.
"She is so nice! I hope she doesn't get into trouble," Parker says as Hardison climbs into his bed.
"If you were planning on thanking her, I suggest money and not a kiss." Her laughter is heavy with sleep. She turns on her side and curls up next to the seam of the two beds.
"How can I be so tired? I just slept eleven hours." She lays down her heavy head, her nose just inches from Hardison's shoulder.
"Don't fight it, girl," He says watching her eyes drift closed.
"I should have let you find me," she murmurs, already half asleep.
"I know." He kisses the top of her head before finally letting himself relax.